COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) -- South Carolina has the lowest average gas price in the country, but that may not last last long if state transportation officials get their way.
According to GasBuddy.com the average for a gallon of regular unleaded in South Carolina is $2.53 -- Columbia has the 11th lowest average nationwide at $2.54 a gallon. Now the head of the state's Department of Transportation is asking lawmakers to raise the state's gasoline tax for the first time in more than 20 years.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Tuesday that Transportation Secretary Buck Limehouse has written lawmakers asking them to raise the tax from the current nearly 17 cents per gallon to just over 22 cents per gallon.
South Carolina hasn't raised the tax since 1987. It's the fourth-lowest gasoline tax in the nation.
The gas tax pays for road improvements and construction, safety upgrades and bridge replacement.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell of Charleston says the gas tax should be tied to the sales tax that rises and falls with the price of fuel.
Lawmakers have quickly rejected recent requests to raise the tax.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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